It is sometimes necessary to pump water from an open body of water such as a pond, a lake, a stream, etc., for purposes of firefighting, irrigation, etc., by drawing the water through a hose that has an intake end in the body of water. Such bodies of water often contain debris, such as leaves, twigs, fish, etc., that interfere with the operation of the pump or that are simply unwanted in the water being pumped. It is known to provide a strainer on the intake end of the hose to prevent debris from entering the hose. To reduce the introduction of silt or other unwanted matter from the bottom of the body of water, the intake end of the hose can be attached to a suction head assembly that includes the strainer and a float to keep the intake end of the hose near the water surface. However, the floats are typically large and heavy.